A location-based information service provides information and/or functionalities to a user of a mobile device according to the mobile device's current physical location.
Unfortunately, however, the user currently has only limited control over the information received from, and sent to, location-based information services. Typically, a particular location-based information service is either enabled or disabled via an application (“app”) on the user's mobile device. If disabled, no information is provided relating to the user's proximate physical location; and if enabled, all information relating to the user's physical location is provided from the server to the user's mobile device.
There is currently no mid-way between the extremes of a complete absence of location-based information when the related app on the user's mobile device is disabled to a complete providing of all location-based information when the app is enabled.
In addition, currently there is no way to get location-based information service that is based on the area without sending the exact location of the user.
Moreover, specific location-based information typically requires an active end-to-end wireless connection of some sort to a specific remote server that provides the location-based information. Although a variety of connections to the mobile device may exist (e.g., WiFi, cellular, etc., connecting to Internet, cellular networks, and Local Area Networks), there is no guarantee that the specific remote server providing the desired location-based information may be accessible at any particular time.
Also, currently there is no way to get location-based information service that is based on user to user connection without sending the exact location of the user and without having a server that connects between the users.
It would therefore be desirable to have a means by which the user may selectively control the level and degree of access by his or her mobile device to a location-based information service. It would also be desirable to enable access to location-based information between to users in cases when the remote server associated with the location-based information is not accessible. These goals are met by embodiments of the present invention.